When She Wakes Up
by FanFicFoy
Summary: <html><head></head>This is a story of a boy who is desperate to find his girlfriend amid the slaughter of his classmates. It tells the story of Setako and Miki, and their tragic love for one another. I hope you all enjoy this. It's my first one shot. I love this series and felt like I needed to write a good tear-jerker.</html>


"Setako! Setako, please! Where are you?"

Setako heard the screams. It seemed like no matter how fast he ran, though, he couldn't reach them. The voice, crying out in terror was his girlfriend of three years: Miki Anouma. He was determined to reach her, regardless of who might have been chasing him. He wasn't afraid of losing his life, not anymore. Suddenly it was all about her.

He sprinted through the woods, weaving his way in and out of trees and other obstacles. The exhaust of the last fifty hours had no effect on him. He hadn't slept, eaten, or stopped moving since The Program began. He'd seen no less than seven of his classmates laying mutilated in various locations. This didn't even account the fact that a further thirty two of them hadn't been seen…but they were dead, nonetheless. The combination of psychological terror, fatigue, and sheer confusion were beginning to take their toll.

But now, in this moment, Miki needed him. The screams didn't give a name, but her voice was recognizable to him under any circumstance. The soft delicacy of her laugh, or the calm, sweetness of her voice was no longer present. Now, the only thing heard in her screams was torment.

Setako's weapon turned out to be a hammer. A hammer… Shooting someone you knew and spent years of your life with would have been hard enough. But hammering them to death? It was out of the question. At least until now. For the first time since the game began, he dawned the hammer as it dangled from his belt. He ran on, begging God to bring Miki, _his_ Miki into sight.

A scream penetrated the air. Then, a gunshot. The woods fell silent. Setako halted in his tracks. His legs began to wobble, the blood, fleeing from his extremities…He somehow found the strength to keep running. His body was on the verge of collapse. His chest was on fire, and he was heaving profusely. But he didn't care if his heart exploded, because the girl who owned it, had most likely just perished.

Finally, after a few seconds that seemed like hours, Setako saw what he'd been fearing. About a twenty yards away, he saw a figure with an outstretched arm. A gun was clenched beneath his fingers. Setako instantly knew who he was, and not for the fact that his name hadn't yet been mentioned on previous reports. Itaka Netoma…the Class President. Setako hated him, he always had. It wasn't the pompous attitude, or the fact that every girl in school swooned over him…it was personal. Itaka had bullied Setako relentlessly in previous years. As of recently, he'd been trying to convince Miki to leave him. Something that would never be possible, and Itaka knew it. As a result Itaka had his father, who was very well connected with the school board, try tirelessly to find a reason to get Setako moved to another class.

When his gaze shifted, Setako's heart sunk deeper into his stomach. There, laying slouched against a tree stump…was Miki. Rage burned inside him. He had to make a move, and fast. It was painfully obvious that she'd been shot, but maybe, just maybe he could help her…but first, Itaka must be dealt with. He clenched his hammer in his right hand. He voided his mind of all emotions and honed in on his target. The back of Itaka's head.

Setako leapt forward, over a tree stump. He sprinted, his vision was tunneled as he struggled to contain himself from releasing a roar of anger. Itaka's black hair got closer and closer. Setako reared back his arm. He slammed down on his left foot, throwing his right arm forward as hard as he could.

There was a body chilling crack. Itaka instantly fell to the ground, face first, and began to make a gurgling sound. Setako's primal instincts set in. Something dark was activated within his soul, and his usually relaxed attitude thirsted for blood…and he was determined to get it. Setako flipped Itaka over onto his back and straddled his stomach. Itaka was convulsing and his eyes stared, unaware, into the sky. Blood gushed from his nose and mouth.

Setako raised the hammer. He yelled at the top of his lungs as the hammer kept coming down, again and again, each blow making Itaka's face more unrecognizable. Setako couldn't stop. Soon his screams of anger became desperate sobs.

"Setako…"

The blows instantly halted. The hammer fell to the grassy surface below. Blood soaked the ground. Setako turned around and leaned forward from Itaka's body. His own body was so weak from the adrenaline suddenly being sucked away, that he, too, collapsed onto his face. His sobs were now uncontrollable as he desperately tried to crawl towards Miki. Fatigue was now crippling him and he made pitiful grunting noises as he dug his fingernails into the grass and tried to pull himself forward.

Miki was still alive, but her voice was so weak, death seemed to be looming over her. Setako didn't care, though, he craved to hold his dying love, just one more time. Somehow he found the strength, and when he reached Miki's body, he slowly sat up and reached for her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was so shallow, that it was almost non-existent. Setako could see blood soaking through her shirt on the right side of her chest. The bullet's damage was obviously terminal.

"How did you know it was me?"

Setako asked as he took Miki into his arms and placed her head on his shoulder next to his.

Although her eyes remained closed, Miki managed to crack an ever so weak smile.

"Because when we started dating…all those years ago…You told me when we were sitting on the swings at our favorite park, that no matter where I went, you'd find me…and you did…I knew you would."

"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to find you, but I was scared…"

Setako was now sobbing so hard that he shook, rocking Miki back and forth in his arms. He squeezed her and held her heart as close to his as possible. He then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Blood from his hands began to drip down the sides of her face, mixing with her tears that flowed consistently from her eyes.

"I can feel your heartbeat on mine...it makes it hurt less…"

Miki cracked open her eyes as much as she could, even this action was becoming too much to manage.

"I would pray…each and every night, when we met, that yours would be the last face I saw, before I died. I would pray that after a long life, you'd hold me and tell me it was okay to go…Setako?"

"Yes...?"

Miki closed her eyes again and placed her head back down onto Setako's shoulder.

"…is it okay to go now?"

Setako bit his tongue and tried as hard as he could not to burst into tears again. His heart was shattered. Everything he loved about life was now dying in his arms. He'd failed at protecting her, he'd failed at getting them out of this, and he'd failed at bringing her home safely. But now…he had to grant her this last request.

"Of course it is…and you know I'll be waiting right here when you wake up…okay?"

Miki smiled one more weak smile, her face was now colorless.

"I know you will…I love you…do you still love me?"

"You know I do, Miki. More than anything else in the world."

Miki took one last breath in.

"Good…just making sure."

Then, Miki, the girl Setako had fallen in love with, was gone. Her heart beat ceased to be felt on Setako's chest, and her body went limp. She was gone.

Setako burst into hysterical sobs. He squeezed Miki's lifeless body until he could no longer find the strength to do so. He took her body from the tree stump and laid her down on her back. He looked down on her and brushed the hair from her eyes, she'd always had long bangs. Even in death she was beautiful. He knelt down and kissed Miki one last time and rubbed his cheeks against hers. She'd always giggled when he used to do that.

When the military came to retrieve Setako, they had to pry him off of Miki's body. He never spoke to anyone. When he was delivered back into the home of his parents, they flocked to him and received him in tears of joy. But Setako's expression never changed, and he remained silent. One day his family walked into his room and found a note on his pillow. It read "I need to be there when she wakes up." Setako was never found, and the horrendous reality of The Program went unknown. Millions of people went through their lives never even considering the possibility of their children being picked. But the countless bodies of futures cut short didn't stop piling up, and the story of Setako and Miki was never told.

…But now I have to go…I have to be there when she wakes up…


End file.
